A new threat casts its shadow over the Southern Isles. A mysterious demon, consumed by hatred, terrifies the population and pools his force against the coastal city of Setarrif. Experience a new, compelling part of the chronicles of Argaan. Face the last challenge - determine your destiny!

Gothic 3 scored only 8/10 because developer JoWooD "forced" the game's release when it was "not ready", developer Piranha Bytes has revealed to Eurogamer.

That was the final nail in the coffin: Piranha Bytes walked away from its long-term publisher partner and the renowned RPG series it had created.

"The problem was - to cut a long story short - there were a couple of differences in opinion between the publisher and us," said Piranha Bytes co-founder Michael Hoge. "And the whole thing collapsed when the publisher forced us to release Gothic 3 while it was not ready."

"To be fair, if we had finished it in the time that we promised, it would have been fine. But as it was, the development took longer on the project, and instead of trying to find a solution with us - how to get this right - they just wanted to release it. It was because of their stock market orientation, I think. So we decided to go separate ways then."

JoWooD went on to attempt a fourth Gothic game using developer Spellbound Software. The results were dire: ArcaniA - A Gothic Tale was "a dry spreadsheet" of ideas that "neither mentally or materially" rewarded players - 4/10.

"For us it seemed to be a win-win situation," said Hoge of the impact of ArcaniA - A Gothic Tale, "because we knew we would get the brand back.

"Currently, JoWooD has no more rights on developing any further Gothic titles, so the rights are back - they will be back I think next year. I don't have the contract here. Very soon the contract runs out and we will get the rights back. And we knew that from the start.

"We thought, OK, scenario one: they do a good game and it furthers the brand. Scenario 2: they fail and everyone knows why."

I’ve been travelling for 25 hours, and now I’m in Utah. There’s snow, and buildings made from wood. Why do I tell you this? Because I’m knackered and want to have a little moan. Pity me. Weep for me. Tell me you love me.

Cheery news, however: 1) there’s a big pot of coffee right next to me. 2) Gothic creators Piranha Bytes might be getting their original franchise/universe back, having had to hand over the rights to erstwhile publisher JoWood some time ago.(more…)

JoWooD filed for bankruptcy in January. Fall of Setarrif was supposed to release this Friday, 25th March.

"The legal background of the official add-on to ArcaniA: Gothic 4 is unclear and diverse legal positions with the BVT fund that financed the main game are present," a confusing statement read.

JoWooD business development manager Stefan Berger commented: "It's uncertain whether the game can be released onto the market in its current form. Of course this must be investigated and settled before the release, unfortunately."

Eurogamer was unable to reach JoWooD for comment at the time of writing.

ArcaniA: Gothic 4 was JoWooD's first attempt at the Gothic series without founding developer Piranha Bytes; the honours instead falling to Spellbound Software. Sadly, the resulting RPG was dreary, scoring a leave-it-on-the-shelf 4/10 from Eurogamer.

‘Bittersweet’ covers this news, I suppose. Arcania: Gothic 4 was a picturesque but depressingly stupid RPG, and one I couldn’t bear to finish despite a lingering hope that at some point it would suddenly open up and improve. None of this was the fault of series creators Piranha Bytes, who lost the rights in a spat with publisher JoWood, but fortunately went off to make the far more interesting Risen instead.

Nonetheless, Arcania was deemed successful enough to warrant a standalone expansion, Fall of Setarrif, which promised 10 more hours of monster-bothering and a bit more variety. It sounded quite literally “okay.” We shall never know for sure – Setariff has indeed fallen. And in a really weird way.(more…)

PC gaming truth machine Blues News reports that Fall of Setarrif, the standalone expansion for ArcaniA – Gothic 4 has both a trailer (which you’ll find below) and a new site, bearing a new release date. March 25th! It’s like Christmas in March, except a slightly underwhelming Christmas where all the food is a bit cold. Anyway, March 25th- that’s barely enough time to get the game and finish it! You may be better off reading if Alec’s impressions of Gothic 4.(more…)